, Five for Friday - June 27, 2014

  Time to link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching!

I am full swing into summer now (I can't believe it has been almost a whole month!), but I am definitely keeping busy working on things for next year.  I went into my classroom this weekend, but it wasn't quite ready for me yet.

The tables and everything else are pushed against the wall ready for the janitors to clean the carpets.  I did manage to pull out my laminator and got some laminating done.  Luke also kept busy with math manipulatives.  He put his uniform on to go to school today (he cracks me up)!  

He is going to be in my class this year and I am both excited and nervous about that.  Have you ever had your own child in your class? Any tips or advice?

Tyler has also been doing his share of out of school work reading up a storm.  It makes me chuckle because I asked him last week what he was reading and he said, "Nothing, reading is boring!'  I told him that he just hadn't found the right book yet, but reading is exciting, and when he finds the right book he will love it too. I truly believe every person is a reader waiting to find the right book to hook them.  Anyway, we went to Barnes and Noble for me and he saw a poster of a baseball book on the windows as we made our way in.  We looked for it and found it and he has been reading ever since.  Point made!

Speaking of baseball, my husband took our two baseball fans, Tyler and Luke to the A's game with Luke's baseball coach.  They had a blast!

Tyler and Luke

Luke with his Coach

Bet you can't tell he's a fan, can you?

Tyler was ready to catch any foul balls.

Yesterday we spent a relaxing day at Donner Lake.  This was my view for most of the day.

We rented paddle boats for part of the morning.

Hubby and the boys out on the lake.  Paddle boats are quite the workout let me tell you!

But, we had a blast and the views were amazing!

Luke even found a friend - a little frog.  He asked if he could keep him, but I told him "NO!"

I am such a mean mom!

While we were at the lake I got a bit of reading in as well getting ready for my next book study on The Together Teacher.  If you haven't entered to win a copy yet, head over here.  

Have a great weekend!

Five For Friday and Giveaway News!

It is Friday again - which means time for Five for Friday with Doodle Bugs Teaching.

Here are a few random things from my week:

 

I spent most of this week working on writing common assessments for our district.  I learned a lot from the other teachers there and I can't wait to share some of the great ideas! Above is a picture of an activity we did prior to writing the assessment.  It gave me some ideas for having students sort and sequence all sorts of things - place value, story sequencing, historic figure timelines, etc.  Have you ever used a sort like this in your class?  How did it go?

 

 

One of the teachers there had just purchased these books (she had the ELA one too) and shared them with our group.  I am thinking about getting them, but I'm not 100% sure.  Have you used these books (or types of books) in your class?  What were the results?

 

 

On a non-teaching note, this week had a touch of sadness and joy when my second son moved into his own apartment! Well, technically not his own, he is living with his older brother, but still!  Powell was born with special needs and we had been told he would never walk or talk.  He just graduated high school last month - with a regular diploma!  A bittersweet moment losing a son, but joyful knowing that he has overcome so much in his life to be able to take this step into adulthood!

 

On another kid note, Tyler got hit with a baseball at his practice Monday night.  It hit him so hard, you could see the laces from the ball on his forehead! OUCH!  But.. he is so tough - he smiled through it and asked to go back out after putting ice on his head for about two minutes.  We will be heading to All Stars this weekend - it is supposed to be 106 degrees!  YIKES!

 

 

And finally... can you believe it??? Today is my blog's one year anniversary!  Time really flies when you're having fun doesn't it?  But... that also means it is time for a giveaway!  I will be having a giveaway starting tomorrow where I will be giving away some of my favorite things!  A few fabulous TpT sellers will also be getting in on the fun with a few donated items as well!  Don't forget to stop by tomorrow to enter!

 

Clipart from MyCuteGraphics.com

 

 

 

 

 

Problem of The Day

Every day I put a problem of the day on the board for my kiddos to solve.  I usually use real world problems and examples using either the students or my family.  My fifth grader noticed that I did this the other day, and asked why?  I told him that my students are always curious about my family, so they enjoy these little problems. 

Today I had collaboration in the morning and my kids usually hang out in my classroom before school.  When I came back in, I noticed this on the board.  My fifth grader had written a problem of the day for the students!  While it was a little too challenging for my third graders - I thought it was a great way to stretch my 5th grader.  I think I might have him come up with problems more often!

It also made me think that it might be fun to ask some of my students to come up with problems as well.

Do you incorporate problem solving into your daily lesson? What things do you do?

Being a Teacher and A Mom

Friday ended on a not so good note.  My three youngest boys come into my classroom after school each day while I finish up last minute odds and ends.  I am feeling completely swamped, and had planned on staying a little late on Friday.  My class had earned a root beer float party as a reward for Star homework, so my boys were excited to see if their were leftovers.  There were - and they made a few for themselves as I briefly spoke with a parent - I turned around to see a disaster.  While I was cleaning that up, I noticed them dragging chairs into the hallway.  They had gotten their football stuck in a tree outside, and then proceeded to get their shoes stuck up there trying to get the football down. The shoes are still in the tree as I type this!

Admist the chaos, I noticed this note on one of my desks written (thank God in dry erase marker) by my 6 year old.

It almost (*almost*) made up for the chaos!

How do you balance being a teacher and a mom?